Educate 25000 Children through Volunteers in India

A child’s curiosity with anything and everything around is exquisite. Opportunities must be provided to identify a child’s inclination, which is why educational institutions provide training in varied literary and creative fields. However, such opportunities are not available to millions of underprivileged children.

Almost all children have a liking for arts, and with good training it could serve as an essential lifeskill for the interested minds. Besides, the importance of arts and crafts for cerebral growth is irrefutable. Bhumi’s volunteers of ‘Artoons’ (a module, under Ignite, for visual arts and creative crafts) are on a journey to provide less-fortunate children an opportunity to taste this joy of working with body, mind and soul.

'Artoons' conducted painting workshops at several shelter homes in Chennai recently. Children were encouraged to dive and dwell in the shimmering ocean of imagination. Each workshop focussed on introducing children to a different facet of drawing, painting and creative crafts. Techniques for shading, adding drama with dimension, incorporating colours, and drawing eye catching patterns were taught to the children.

The workshops, aimed to benefit children, covered Doodle, Manga, Zentangle Mandala and Cubism. For instance, Zentangle, which involves a lot of intricate designs, helps children inculcate patience and develop a feeling of relaxed focus, more like meditation. Creative craft sessions were also conducted at few homes. Children converted pieces of paper into beautiful artefacts. The sessions included kirigami (paper art – a variation of origami), making windchimes, caterpillar, quilling, envelop making, bookmarks and greeting cards. In all these sessions, most of the children did well as trained.

“It was the first time I taught drawing to kids. I did not know what Cubism was a month ago, and spent half a day to practise this art. The interest in me (to teach kids and in the subject itself) and the support from my co-volunteer Sudha (Project Coordinator - Artoons) drove me to make this happen” says a volunteer, Ms. Gayathri. 

Our volunteers experienced warm fuzzies from some feedback on the session: “The children who attended the sessions found it rather engrossing, some of them practicing drawing sketches of animals as they were specially interested in the session on Animation … Participating in such workshops inculcates love for drawing and painting and we expect some of our girls to pursue these interests and become good artists in future” says Mrs. Rajini Devi K, Joint Secretary – Kalaiselvi Karunalaya Social Welfare Society.

A total of ten workshops were conducted over the past three months (from Aug 2017) and more is being planned for the weekends to come. Over 500 children have benefitted from these workshops. The goal is for all children to get the exposure, and to provide a life skill for those who wish to pursue a career in the field of creative arts. Moreover, these workshops add a memorable moment to their childhood, just like the memories we carry from our school days.

“This is the first time I am learning to draw. I am very happy and excited. In our first session, we were encouraged to draw anything we could imagine. Then we were taught to draw camel, tortoise and much more. I would keep drawing if I get the chance.”, Dhinakar*, a primary class student, shares his thoughts with a broad smile.

“… A volunteer approached me and said she could help me develop skill in drawing. I did not believe it in the beginning. But after the sessions, I am now confident and delighted that I have a new skill ... This drawing skill will also help me in my diploma as I am planning to take up Mechanical or Automobile engineering” says Vetrimaran*, a class 12 student from Seva* Home.

Volunteers at Bhumi have been earnestly working to cultivate the lower social stratum into a garden of knowledge, confidence and self-sustenance. In this regard, one significant programme of Bhumi among many is mentoring children in shelter homes. ‘Lakshya’ (meaning target), aims to provide life skills and guide children in understanding their strengths and in defining an identity for themselves.

Govind, Rahul and Santosh resided in a home run by Bhartiya Adimjati Sewak Sangh in Delhi where Bhumi started Lakshya in 2016. The home provides shelter for children from remote villages and economically backward families and supports their education till class 10.

With time, Bhumi volunteers observed that some of the children were lagging behind in their academics and had no ambitions for their futures. Having gone through more than what children ought to, these children were ‘ignorant and unrefined’ - the challenges were evident to the volunteers. Even though the original structure of Lakshya had only weekend classes, Himanshu (one of the volunteers), started teaching these children everyday. He assisted them in school subjects and provided thoughtful guidance for setting goals. The determination and enthusiasm of one volunteer became contagious, attracting more volunteers of Lakshya to support the classes.

The volunteers had several well-thought out discussions with the children to understand their plans for the future. They gave personalised attention on possible career options based on their interests. During which, they identified three children who wanted to opt for Diploma degrees in engineering after class 10. The children had to endure many hurdles to achieve this. Firstly, their academic performance had to improve; with daily coaching assistance, this gradually got better. Secondly, the home permitted stay of children only till class 10 exams, after which they are on their own. Govind, Rahul and Santosh feared that they would be stranded once again. Bhumi volunteers approached the home and convinced them, with great efforts, to allow the children to stay until their admissions. Finally, and most importantly, the children had to clear the entrance exam, which they did with satisfactory scores.

“It is a proud moment for all of us. It feels great that these children are proceeding towards a better future and that we (volunteers) have contributed towards it,” says Ms. Lakhbir, content with the Lakshya team’s accomplishment.

Unexpected troubles came up during the admission process. The children had to submit caste certificates from Delhi government as per admission rules, while they had the certificates issued from their respective states. It takes months to transfer the caste certificate from one state to another. However, the concerned government officials were kind enough to speed up the process and issue the certificates in just a few days. Volunteers took the responsibility of accompanying children throughout.

“… I am very happy that I got admission in a government college. The volunteers helped a lot … I convey my profound thanks to them. I am very happy,” Santosh smiles with happiness.

Many volunteers played key roles in this journey, few of whom are Himanshu, Lakhbir Kaur, Urvashi, Narender, Ronil, Mikki and Sneh. Though they are employed, they took turns and ensured that one or the other was available for the children’s daily coaching till admissions. Govind, Rahul and Santosh have gotten into reputed Polytechnic colleges in Delhi and are all set to start their journey towards a better tomorrow.

Ms. Urvashi is delighted and shares, “Teaching these kids have not only lead to their betterment, but also helped us in gaining confidence. It was by the team’s collective effort and determination that we were able to overcome the obstacles.”

The journey has motivated other children in the shelter home to focus their energy on education and to dream big. They are now in a streamlined path and tend to meander much less. Govind, Rahul and Santosh have left a miraculous mark that influences others to dream and achieve.

Links:

• Know about Bhumi's programmes
• Read about Bhumi's Lakshya programme